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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171650">Humanities end</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedollars666/pseuds/thedollars666'>thedollars666</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Durarara!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Violence, M/M, Near Death Experiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:14:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedollars666/pseuds/thedollars666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting stabbed by a man who claims to be Jinnai Yodogiri, Izaya awakens in the hospital a few days later. He quickly discovers that the world he once knew, is gone, replaced by cannibalistic humans attacking and eating each other. There appears to be only one explanation that has been used to describe this situation, and that is – A Zombie apocalypse. Izaya must quickly adapt to this new world, or he will surely succumb to the virus that has taken many of his humans already.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Awaken into chaos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The first chapter to 2/3 of my brand new stories. I've always wanted to write a Zombie AU!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Izaya looked at his phone as he walked between the people of the street, it was ringing, but the caller ID showed as blocked. Izaya answered it, frowning in thought. A voice at once spoke, without so much as waiting for him. </p><p> </p><p>{Oh, hello. Is this Mr. Izaya Orihara I’m speaking with?}</p><p> </p><p>Izaya continued to walk as he replied, “Yes, this is Orihara.”</p><p> </p><p>{I have to tell ya, I’m at the end of my rope here. Thanks to you getting that monster mixed up with the Awakusu group….it’s really thrown me off my game plan. Seriously, if Akane Awakusu hadn’t got involved with Shizuo Heiwajima, heh, things would have gone a lot more smoothly by now.}</p><p> </p><p>Izaya glanced at the phone, his frown had deepened. “Hey, who the hell is this?”</p><p> </p><p>The person on the other end laughed. {No need for you to know my name, but as a token of our new friendship; let me offer an opinion, or rather, a warning. You’re a bit too good-looking Izaya.}</p><p> </p><p>Izaya stopped walking then. “What?”</p><p> </p><p>{It makes you stand out in a crowd. So, in your case, trying to blend in really isn’t an ideal way for you to hide. Besides, you’re looking kind of stressed, I think a nap will do you a world of good.}</p><p> </p><p>Izaya’s eyes widened when he realized that the person he had been speaking with was now right there beside him. Before he could react, Izaya felt something sharp penetrate his side with a single thrust. His phone instantly clattered to the floor as he gasped, he looked down, his vision blurred in and out of focus when he watched the blood flow down toward his leg, and he collapsed in the middle of the zebra-crossing. </p><p> </p><p>…………………………………</p><p> </p><p>Izaya opened his eyes to the darkness of his room, he remembered getting stabbed in the street and that he was in the hospital. He sighed and then forced himself into a sitting position, a hand coming to rest on his wound. He glanced at the clock on the wall, 03:10, he then looked at the door to his room, Izaya stared intently at the door for a few seconds, then – </p><p> </p><p>A loud noise that sounded a lot like an explosion, followed by a bright glow of flames, interrupted his thoughts. The noise startled him, and he frowned as he turned his attention away from the door and toward his window. The glow of flames flickered light into his room, and he carefully swung his legs over the bed and brought his hand up around his side as he shuffled across the floor. Using his other hand, he peered through the window and glanced down into the streets. He frowned slightly in confusion, he could hear muffled screams from the people below, they were running all over the place, scattering like ants. “What’s going on….” It was dark, and despite the angry bright flames that licked across the street, he couldn’t discern anything that was going on below. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya turned away from the window and glanced at his jacket that was hanging up by the closet. Well, first things first, he looked down at himself and opened the blue hospital robe that was covering his body and checked the bandage to make sure it was adequate; it was clean, at least. Izaya began to dress, starting with his pants, being careful of his wound. As he was pulling his shirt over his head, the door to his room opened in one quick swoop. Izaya stilled and then watched as a nurse came rushing in, she quickly locked eyes with him, realizing that he was up and out of bed. Izaya expected her to start fussing over him, telling him that he shouldn’t be getting dressed or even be moving around. </p><p> </p><p>She did none of these; the light was switched on quickly, and Izaya immediately noticed the fear on her face. “Oh, Mr. Orihara, it’s not safe here right now,” she spoke with a panicked tone and then pointed at the door. “You must come with me; the hospital is being evacuated.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya looked at her for a moment, trying to assess the situation. “Why?” he then grinned, as though he had come up with his own reasons. “I just bet there is a certain blond monster after me,” he chuckled. “He’s certainly going to great lengths this time, managing to clear an entire hospital, how very brutish of him.” Izaya grabbed his jacket and slipped into the sleeves. </p><p> </p><p>The woman frowned in confusion and stepped further into the room. “I don’t know about specific hair color, but I don’t think it matters, come on, you have to leave and follow the rest to the evacuation zone.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya’s grin faded, and he glanced at the window, then back to the nurse. “Is this to do with what’s going on outside?”</p><p> </p><p>The nurse’s face contorted with a fearful expression. “You saw them?”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya stepped toward her, deciding that it would benefit him if he followed her if only to find out what was happening. “Them, who’s them?”</p><p> </p><p>The nurse shuddered. “Come on, you must leave, they have already started to overrun this place, it’s not saf-” Izaya’s eyes widened, and a yelp escaped his mouth; all too quickly, someone – some-<em>thing, </em>pushed the nurse to the ground, her scream of terror filled his ears. Izaya backed himself up against the wall and watched with a horrified expression as the woman was bitten and slowly torn apart. Her piercing screams were cut off, and her attacker merely continued to dive into his, ‘meal.’ No sign of remorse, no hesitation, just….attack. </p><p> </p><p>The raven couldn’t utter a word, wasn’t even sure if he was even breathing, but the attacker hadn’t noticed him yet, therefore slowly, and very quietly, he crouched low and shimmied under the bed. Izaya had no weapon with which to defend himself against that kind of monstrosity. Just what the fuck was that? He winced at the tension that his stretched form caused his wound, but he stayed still, hoping whoever or whatever it was, left soon. Bile rose in his throat though, and he suddenly had to turn his head away, the woman’s insides were quite literally being pulled apart…...and eaten. Certainly not blond, and most definitely not Shizuo; a monster? Very likely, but…... what caused someone to do that? Was this what the woman was trying to tell him, was this the reason for the evacuation? </p><p> </p><p><em>Them. </em>Did that mean there were more than one of these things? Izaya glanced over at the window, it would explain the panic that was taking over the streets below. <em>I have to be dreaming. </em>Izaya looked at the now half-eaten mess of what used to be the nurse, he cringed and squashed down the need to vomit. There was something more important to do right now, and that was to get the hell out of here. <em>Maybe I could escape while it’s distracted. </em>Izaya reached his arm out and gripped the edge of the bed, he slowly pulled himself out from the side. He kept his breathing light and crouched as he shifted forward inch by inch. With a clenched fist, he stood up, his heart was beating rapidly and painfully against his chest. So far, the man, at least he thought it was a man, hadn’t noticed him, still chowing down on the poor nurse’s flesh. <em>That’s right, just focus on your meal there…... </em>Izaya grimaced at his thoughts, what the hell was he even thinking? </p><p> </p><p>His attention shifted between the door and the attacker as he took a step forward each time. In the distance, he could hear screams and shouts; he just hoped that it stayed distracted for another minute longer. Izaya shuffled along the wall, his attention entirely on the man now as he reached the doorway. Stepping out into the corridor, he quickly backed himself against the wall, taking a few seconds to breathe a sigh of relief. As he opened his eyes, he all but gasped loudly when he came face to face with another one. Izaya yelped and jumped to the side when it lunged for him, but then in a split second, blood spluttered from its forehead. The raven’s eyes were wide as he just watched the rabid-like-human collapse to the floor. Someone else appeared his viewpoint and sputtered. “Were you bit?”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya stared at the male who had spoken, his body seemed to have gone into shock. “Wha?” he could barely utter a syllable. </p><p> </p><p>The man frowned, shifting his gun and stepped forward. “Did it get you?” The raven shook his head but was still frozen in place. “So, why are you here?”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya blinked in confusion and then followed the man’s gaze to his wrist. He lifted his arm and realized that the man was questioning the band around his wrist. “I was stabbed….” There was an abrupt growl to their left, and Izaya’s eyes widened when the one he left behind in his room had its sights on them now. Blood was splayed over its clothes and dripped from its teeth, Izaya tried not to think about what it had been doing to end up that way. Before it could lunge at them, a single gunshot pierced through its forehead. </p><p> </p><p>The man's attention shifted back to the raven. “I’m just going to wager a guess that you have no idea what’s going on, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya shook his head, he really really didn’t. “Is it rabies or something?”</p><p> </p><p>The man, or soldier, snorted a laugh. “Can see why you might say that, but rabies isn’t contagious, at least in the sense that it's not passed between humans.” He gestured his thumb down the corridor when a scream interrupted them. “We’re trying to get as many as we can to safety, this hospital is practically a feasting ground for them now, it all happened so quick, damn….” Izaya frowned and opened his mouth to ask a question when a gun was pushed toward him, he glanced down at the small beretta and took hold of the handle slowly. “Don’t suppose you know how to use that.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya glanced at him, this soldier was handing him a fucking gun, just how bad was this situation? He couldn’t have been unconscious for any longer than three days! “I know how to use one, not sure how well my aim is, I’ve never fired a gun.” He wasn’t lying about that, he’d handled one but never fired. </p><p> </p><p>“Good enough, it’s going to have to be. Just make sure you aim for the fucking head.”</p><p> </p><p><em>The head? </em>“Why are you-” Izaya frowned, looking at the floor, at the two that were already dead. “Why are you killing these people?” he knew it was a stupid thing to ask, and he didn’t intend it in the context it came out as. “They look-” closing his mouth again, Izaya didn’t know what he wanted to say, were they sick, were they even still, ‘human?’ </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t say human goddammit, they stopped being human the moment they came back to life.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya stared at him in surprise, what the hell did that mean? “What?”</p><p> </p><p>The soldier shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain yet, if we get out of this hospital alive, then I’ll tell you everything.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya couldn’t help the fear that crept up his spine, yes, Izaya Orihara was afraid, and who wouldn’t be? <em>If - </em>if they got out alive. Fuck. “How many of these-” What were they, was there even a name for them? “Sick people, are there?” yeah, sick people, that was a good name, right? </p><p> </p><p>The soldier almost chuckled. “If you’re looking for something to call them, preferably something that sounds more explainable, then I would suggest infected ones.” Izaya swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, that certainly made sense, he studied the bodies again, infected, a very describable way indeed. He began to follow the soldier down the corridor, they broke into a jog before stopping as they reached a double doorway. Infected with what exactly? If not rabies, then what the fuck was it? “The simpler term?” the soldier turned to him with a tight smile before it dropped from his face, and he raised his gun. For a moment, Izaya froze, wondering if the man had decided to shoot him, he gripped the weapon he had been given, no way would he be quick enough to fire before the other did. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, he was pushed to the side, and a gunshot sounded off, Izaya turned just in time to see the bullet break through someone’s skull. The body collapsed to the floor, the raven looked at the soldier when he spoke again with another small smile, “Would be a zombie.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Undead humans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is chapter 2, thank you for the support so far!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Zombie. The soldier with a gun in his hand had just said zombie with a fucking smile on his face! Did he hear that correctly? Izaya glanced down at the body of the one the soldier had just shot, had he woken up into a world of the undead? The raven shook his head, not quite able to grasp the situation. A nudge from the man carried his attention away from the dead, he looked at the soldier and was gestured to follow down the next corridor. Izaya tried his best not to survey those who were already dead; it was a gory sight. He winced when the soldier stopped abruptly, and they shifted to back themselves against the wall by another set of double-doors. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya was not going to dismiss the idea that a zombie apocalypse was possible, because his world was already filled with Irish Dullahan fairies and demonic swords that possessed those that – huh, Izaya frowned as a thought crossed his mind, what if – </p><p> </p><p>“Wait here,” the soldier said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts as he stepped away from the wall and in between the doorway. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya looked at the gun in his hand and checked the bullet count – there was a full clip. With a sigh, he took the time to scan the corridor he was standing in, they were littered with papers, equipment, and even personal belongings. He was starting to think that the infected ones originated from this very hospital, that nurse had said they were in the middle of an evacuation, he must have been out long enough for almost an entire hospital to clear.</p><p> </p><p>Izaya’s mind wandered back to his previous thoughts, what if this was some kind of Saika possession gone seriously wrong? When a person is possessed by Saika’s power, didn’t they act as a zombie would do? But – did they rip people apart and eat them? Izaya almost grimaced at the thought of the one in his room, pulling out the nurse’s insides bit by bit, sinking its teeth into her as though she were a buffet. He clenched his fists, his stomach churned, and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second. All he wanted to do was vomit, but he forced it down; he would not vomit in front of a stranger. The man gestured for them to continue, so they moved ahead, could see the flickering of the luminous green light above the door, signaling that they were approaching a staircase. That’s right, they weren’t even on the first floor, were they.</p><p> </p><p>Izaya started to think they weren’t going to make it to the evacuation zone, he found it very odd that they hadn’t met up with anyone else trying to escape, was he seriously one of the last ones? If he hadn’t woken up, were they just not going to bother helping him? No, that probably wasn’t true either, that nurse had come in to help, hadn’t she? Shaking his head, they stopped again at the crossing of the staircase. Izaya placed his hand over his side for a moment, he could feel it throbbing beneath his fingers and hoped the bandage had supported his wound enough that he hadn’t pulled his stitches yet. </p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go, gotta hurry now,” came the soldier’s voice, echoing in the empty stairwell as they began ascending the stairs. That’s right, they were going <em>up, </em>not down as Izaya expected them to do, so the evacuation hadn’t started from the top, it had started from the first floor. “The evac zone is on the roof, we have ten minutes until they all leave without us.”</p><p> </p><p>Ten minutes. Izaya didn’t want to get stuck inside without information on the infection, who knows how many undead were just shuffling their way through the corridors, looking for the next living person to chow down on. Fuck. There went his stomach again, dammit, he thought he could withstand a lot more than this, though it wasn’t as if he had lived through anything that would have prepared him for this. What the hell had caused this in the first place? The damn hospital was already overrun, the streets below as far as he could see from his window were chaotic. If it happened this quickly, then how long before the entire country became affected? Had it already happened in Ikebukuro, Shibuya, and Shinjuku? They were <em>his </em>cities; they were part of him, populated with his humans – humans who may not even be human anymore.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>They’re monsters, just like Shizu-chan.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Izaya followed the soldier toward the top of the staircase, the gun in his left hand held tightly, safety off, and poised by his side. The more he thought about the possibility of a zombie outbreak, the more he wondered if any of the movies he had seen as a young teen – movies that his sisters had made him watch a few times before – if any of their tactics would even work. His thoughts remained on his sisters for a brief time, he had always claimed to hate them, their relationship with one another was no more than the recognition they were related. Izaya frowned at the odd feeling of being worried about them, even if it was only the slightest bit, that was not the point. The point was, since when did he care about them at all? Okay, so maybe he might feel <em>something </em>if he found out one or both were dead – or in this case – undead? </p><p> </p><p>Tch. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya shook his head; he was thinking too irrationally; after all, he still didn’t know if he believed the soldier when he spoke the Z word just yet. </p><p> </p><p>“We’re not that far, it’s just down this-” </p><p> </p><p>The two froze at the top of the next passage. </p><p> </p><p>“-corridor,” the soldier finished his sentence with a flash of horror on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Zombies.</p><p> </p><p>Not just one, or even two. </p><p> </p><p>There were over a dozen.</p><p> </p><p>Izaya took a step back because they hadn’t been discovered, the infected humans appeared to be occupied with something far more interesting right now. There was a shuddering breath in front of him, even the soldier was terrified, and that certainly wasn’t giving him a lot of reassurance. Tightening his hold on the beretta, Izaya took another cautious step back – </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Clink. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The raven froze, swallowing dryly as he glanced down at his heel, the heel that had just stepped on a large shard of glass. Fuck. </p><p> </p><p>Within two seconds, every goddamn pair of eyes were on them, and at least four of them had begun to shuffle in their direction. It wasn’t long before the others started to follow, and Izaya swore they were edging toward them just a little bit faster than when they started. </p><p> </p><p>BANG</p><p> </p><p>BANG</p><p> </p><p>BANG.</p><p> </p><p>Three shots echoed down the corridor, one bullet for each one the soldier aimed for. Three down, nine to go, just great. Spinning around, the man nudged Izaya back and shouted, “Run!” and Izaya did. He was good at that, running, except – his wound, the bandage was rubbing against it, irritatingly painful. There were another two shots behind him, and Izaya frowned. If there was one thing he had assessed very quickly since he had woken up, it was that the infected appeared to have a very keen sense of sound. He’d discovered that in the first ten minutes, had no one else? Surely the soldier <em>trying </em>to rescue them both knew that. If he did, then why the fuck was he shooting his gun off like that! Better yet, why did he give him one? </p><p> </p><p>They had turned in the other direction, running down the right-hand corridor of the staircase they had come up. That couldn’t have been the only way up to the roof, there had to be at least one other exit! Izaya dared to look back, and he really wished he hadn’t. From the moment they had been spotted, the entire group of undead maniacs had covered their distance reasonably quickly. There was a gap of at least seven feet in front of them, and Izaya wanted it to stay that way. “Turn left!” he heard the soldier shout, Izaya frowned, why were they turning left? Left into what? It was a fucking dead end! “The room at the end, it’s a pharmacist lab!” who cared about that? They were supposed to be going to the roof! Ultimately, Izaya didn’t have a choice; it wasn’t as though he could turn back, was it.</p><p> </p><p>With a slam of the door, Izaya ran into the large room. Shelves occupying tall cases were filled with all kinds of assorted medicines, cabinets covered the back walls. Izaya leaned against one of the tables in the center of the room, a hand covering his side as he took a moment to rest. He could hear gunshots just outside and then – </p><p> </p><p>There was a slam of the door as the soldier rushed in and pushed the door closed. Izaya lifted his head and realized that the man was struggling to close the damn thing; they were trying to get in! Izaya was the type of person that could think fast in a critical situation, create a solution on hand if he had to. The raven ignored his wound and began frantically looking for something he could shove against the door. Too bad it wasn’t a double-handled one, that broken metal table leg would have done the trick. Izaya noticed one of the large shelves close by the door, he quickly jogged toward it and pushed from the other side. Crap, the damn thing was too heavy, and his wound – Izaya looked down, it was bleeding. </p><p> </p><p>The soldier glanced over at the raven as he struggled to keep the zombies out, he smiled, realizing Izaya’s intentions. “Hey, switch with me!”</p><p> </p><p>Peering around the case, Izaya wasn’t sure if he liked that idea much better, if he couldn’t move the shelf, how was he supposed to keep the infected out? He would prefer to shoot himself then get mutilated by those things. Izaya shook his head, a massive step too far, that would surely be a last resort, he wasn’t the type to give up so easily. With a nod, Izaya left the case and took his position by the door, mimicking the soldier. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya gritted his teeth as violent thuds threatened to tear the door down any second. He could hear growling and snarling, even scratching – that soldier was taking his goddamn time! Another violent thud – Izaya almost lost his hold on the door, shit, he was going to die! Pushing slowly against the door, he managed to place half his attention toward the man. “I can’t hold this door any longer, can you move the shelf or not?”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya watched as the soldier appeared to snap out of whatever world he had just been in. The raven snorted, well he hoped that the world was better than this one. What kind of soldier spaces out like that in the middle of a crisis! All of a sudden, an arm smashed through the small glass window just above Izaya’s head, the hand reached in and tried to grab him, Izaya ducked with a low yelp, and then a loud scraping caught his attention. Quickly letting the door go, he jumped out of the way just as the heavy shelf was pushed against the door. </p><p> </p><p>With heavy pants, Izaya leaned against the metal table once more, his hand back against his side, the gun he had was placed next to him. His eyes scanned the room, looking up at the ceiling and around the walls, fuck, they were trapped in here.<em> I should have just gone out the window. </em>Izaya caught sight of a first aid section; since he was trapped in here anyway, he might as well make use of their supplies. He took his jacket off and lay it over one of the tables, he took bandages, gauze pads, iodine and tape off the shelf and brought it all to the table. Izaya flashed a small glare at the soldier, who was perched against the shelf covering the door. He knew it was probably selfish to blame the soldier for them being trapped in here; the man had saved his life after all. Izaya didn’t care at the moment, he was sure there had to be another way to the roof, they didn’t need to come this way! Izaya realized that he didn’t need to follow the soldier either; he could have strayed off his own way, but – he was worried about his chances. He didn’t know anything about these infected beings, didn’t know how to fight them, or how it had happened – and that scared him the most. </p><p> </p><p>“The wound bad?” the sound of the soldier’s voice sounded so quiet against the continuous groaning from outside. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya placed a pin between his teeth and lifted his shirt, and pinned the bottom half up for better access to the injury. “I don’t know,” he replied and then slowly began to peel off the tape from the gauze. “It’s bleeding so….”</p><p> </p><p>The soldier stood up and walked over to the table where Izaya was stood. “I can help.” Izaya raised an eyebrow at him, and then his eyes shifted to the door, causing the man to laugh slightly. “Doubt they can get in; we’ll be safe for now.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya remained passive as he peeled back the rest of the tape, he then chewed his lip when he had to also peel off the bandage that had become stuck to his wound. The blood had clotted, which was a good sign he supposed, but there was a layer of yellow mixed in, early signs of infection he guessed. </p><p> </p><p>“I really can help; I am a soldier after all.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya couldn’t help it, he narrowed his eyes at the man as he grabbed the iodine. “You’re also the soldier that got us trapped in here.” </p><p> </p><p>Instead of rising to the statement, the man laughed lightly. “Well, it is my first official mission, and I’m just a combat medic….”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya’s eyes lost some of their glare because now he realized just how screwed they might be. Despite this, it would probably benefit him more if he just let the medic tend to his wound, he didn’t want to do any more damage to himself. Izaya handed the iodine over to the doctor and then sat on the edge of the table. The soldier nodded and then sat his gun down next to Izaya’s. </p><p> </p><p>The medic chuckled as he looked at the iodine in his hand. “No problems with the pain I see, you were really going to just throw this on there?” Izaya shrugged, it had worked for him in the past. “Crazy. A bit of warm soapy water will probably do the trick, it’s not that infected, and that kind of infection is way better than the ones they’ve got out there.” </p><p> </p><p>While the medic prepared a bowl of warm water from the glass room, Izaya kept an eye on the door, wondering how long that shelf was going to hold. He glanced at the beretta; would it be crazy to think they could shoot their way out? The medic came back with the bowl and set it beside Izaya on the table, he reached in with the cloth and then squeezed it. He noticed the raven’s eyes on the gun and began to wipe away the blood around the wound first, he then spoke, “No chance of shooting our way out,” Izaya turned to him. “Unless you’re thinking of shooting yourself instead?” The medic smiled when he was answered with a shake of the head. “Good, I don’t want that on my conscience as well as shooting what used to be people.” Izaya barely flinched when the medic began cleaning the wounded area, adding pressure every so often to clean off the dry pus. </p><p> </p><p>“Can you tell me how this happened?” Izaya asked, it was surprising to hear his voice, he’d barely said a word since he had woken up. </p><p> </p><p>The medic wiped the cloth across Izaya’s injury once more and then took out a gauze padding from its container. “I can, but I don’t know how much you’re going to believe.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya smiled ever so slightly. “I’m open-minded.”</p><p> </p><p>The medic laughed then. “Well, that’s something.” He cut three long strips of tape and pressed them securely over the gauze. Izaya nodded his thanks and lowered his shirt down, the man then wiped his hands as he spoke again. “It happened pretty fast….” His tone was solemn, as though this virus had been spreading over weeks. Izaya was very sure that it hadn’t been <em>that </em>long. “Four days, that’s all it took, we just – we didn’t know, nobody did.”</p><p> </p><p>Izaya’s eyes widened, four days…. Four fucking days! That couldn’t be right….he was sure it wasn’t weeks, but – he didn’t expect that. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Decisions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope this story is going okay so far</p><p>I also want to take the time to say, stay safe out there, I hope you are all well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Izaya stared at the medic for some time; silence between them except for the occasional groaning still coming from behind the door. Ever since they had started trying to escape, he had been mulling over all the different theories inside his head. Of all the possibilities, all the causes for the outbreak that it could have been, all those scenarios…... </p><p> </p><p>A much louder groan followed by a heavy thud outside the room caused him to jump slightly. Izaya blinked and turned his attention to the door for a moment, making sure the heavy shelving placed there was holding. He knew they couldn't stay in here forever; he was quite sure that barricade wouldn't hold for that long anyway. Izaya slid off the table and took his gun with him as he began searching the room, he may as well stock up on items that could be useful while he was here. Firstly, something to carry it all in would be helpful. A glance to the soldier, and he could see a rucksack slung over the man's shoulder, heh, no chance of him just handing that over. </p><p> </p><p>Even though the situation was new, he had always considered himself an excellent tactician, he was a survivor, and it was time to see if that really was a fact and not just a prediction from all those times he had been lucky. Most of the time, Izaya fought his battles mentally, his sharp intellect held significant advantages over those who barely spared a single thought before their actions. A grin replaced his blank expression for a moment because there were plenty of people he knew who reacted blindly, and in this chaos, their deaths had probably already occurred. Izaya could think of a few idiots that he would be glad to find out were dead, and one, in particular, most of all. His grin widened at the thought. <em>Shizu-chan. </em></p><p> </p><p>Though he would be happy to find out his most hated enemy had fallen in all this chaos, he hadn't ruled out the possibility of another particular fact, a zombie Shizu-chan. The damn blond was hard enough to fight off without adding extra stamina to his already 'immortal' body. If Shizuo was killed, Izaya just hoped that he stayed that way, and hadn't risen along with so many others. He wondered about the Awakusu too as he sifted through some of the medical supplies, more bandages and Tylenol were probably a good idea. He didn't like taking pills, only when he gained a headache from working too hard did he make an exception. Items like these would probably be hard to find once they escaped, so it was best to take them while the opportunity presented itself. </p><p> </p><p>By the third scout, Izaya had made a pile of items he planned to take with him, but his eyes narrowed slightly because he still had yet to find a bag to carry them. Glancing over at the glass compartment that he had forgotten to check, he wondered whether there might be something in there. Just as he stepped forward, intending to raid the other room, the medic spoke, it was a nice break to the silence other than the constant reminder of why they were trapped in here in the first place. It hadn't occurred to him until just now, that the one with him – even though a combat medic – was still a soldier, and what he was doing might be considered stealing. When the soldier spoke, it wasn't to lecture him as Izaya thought he might. "Should I take the supplies as a sign that you believe me?" </p><p> </p><p>Izaya glanced at him, it had been at least thirty minutes since either of them had spoken, it figures the man would have thought he just didn't believe him. Of course he believed him! There was no reason not to; the evidence was violently demonstrated in front of him. "I did say I was open-minded." Yeah, he had said that, but it didn't stop the shock, which came when the medic had finished explaining. Izaya had to give the man credit, for that type of situation, he had a fair amount of knowledge for something that had only taken four days. He was suddenly struck with the realization that he still barely knew anything about <em>them. </em>Understanding how it started was nice to know he supposed, but it wasn't going to help him survive, was it. "What can you tell me about them?" Izaya didn't plan to follow the soldier throughout his entire survival, he would have a much better chance on his own, but for now, he might as well take advantage and learn all he could. </p><p> </p><p>"When you kill them, aim for the head, it's as simple as that," the medic replied. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya frowned, expecting more, didn't he know anything else about them? Like how to avoid fighting them if possible, or if they had any other weaknesses or even their strengths. He was a fucking soldier forgodsake! Did the word stealth not exist in this man's vocabulary? Izaya thought back to the corridors and then looked at the gun he held in his hand. It was no surprise, even if what he had seen were only in movies, the way to kill them was still the same, it was always the head. For some reason, he always thought that the way they could be killed depended on the outbreak. That had just been his theory, and even though it sounded ridiculous to him now, he was going to hold onto it. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya realized the medic wasn't going to offer any more advice; therefore, he would have to figure out ways to survive on his own. "What about the infection, can you tell me anything about that?" Anything useful to know was better than nothing, the more he knew about the infection, the more he knew what to expect.</p><p> </p><p>"I get that you would want to know all you can, I'm sorry that I can't tell you a whole lot. Like I said before, today was my first real mission on the field; I was only told to expect dozens of casualties and how to kill the infected ones."</p><p> </p><p>The raven sighed, he thought that having an authority figure with him – even if it was temporary – would be helpful, but as it was, the percentage of overall help was only twenty. Izaya couldn't deny the fact that the soldier had saved his life, but then again, he was also responsible for getting him trapped in here. Speaking of trapped; he looked at the barricaded door once more, he hadn't heard any noise for about five minutes now. <em>At least they know when to give up, </em>he thought with interest, he couldn't help it, being an information broker, wanting to know everything about a new circumstance just came naturally to him, even if that situation was perilous. </p><p> </p><p>"Safe to say that the evacuation groups have left," the soldier announced with massive regret. </p><p> </p><p>That's right, Izaya had almost forgotten about that, and suddenly their survival chances felt a lot lower than a minute ago. He frowned in thought, perhaps not…... "Where was the location of the safe zone? Where were the evacuation groups taking everyone?" if he knew that much, then it wasn't completely hopeless, Izaya was confident he'd be able to make it there on his own; he looked at the soldier. <em>Before</em> <em>I make sure to escape this hospital, he's going to be useful to me a little bit longer. </em>Despite the other providing useless information, Izaya had decided to use him to escape, no matter how selfish that sounded. A soldier was a soldier, even though the raven was capable of defending himself, he was still classed as a civilian, and soldiers protected civilians because it was their jobs.</p><p> </p><p>Izaya noticed his hesitation, there was a good chance that he wasn't authorized to reveal that information. Were there a limited number of people allowed to take shelter in the safe-zone? It was only day four, so if they were already limiting survivors, what happened on day fifty, or a hundred? Undoubtedly the more survivors, the better their chances. Izaya wondered how many people had already been killed because of their disclosure. Another thought soon followed, how many had died from infection and risen again? It sent a cold shiver down his spine, the news – a catastrophe like this, had to have become global. How many idiots had tried to leave Japan on flights in the first few hours of the outbreak before it even had a chance to hit the news?</p><p> </p><p>There was still no noise outside, so their chances of escaping this room were looking up at least. The medic didn't answer his question, but he had taken off his rucksack and begun packing the supplies Izaya had gathered into the bag. Izaya watched him for a moment, he wasn't so keen on the idea of leaving the items he had collected for himself, in the hands of another. Unfortunately, he still needed to get the hell out of this place, and trusting the soldier wasn't exactly something he wanted, but it would keep him alive for now. It didn't matter if Izaya didn't trust him. <em>As long as he trusts me, </em>he thought. There was a contradiction in the way he was thinking; before, when he was trying to figure out how many people knew about the safe zone, the more survivors, the better, and now his present thoughts just screamed every man for himself. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya didn't want to be someone that threw his conscience out the window within the first two hours of living in this kind of world, but it wasn't as though he had much conscience anyway, or so he liked to think so. In this world, in this devastation of violence, it was kill-or-be-killed, the survival of the fittest. Izaya knew the human race better than most people, and he was willing to bet they had already succumbed to that way of living. Besides, he barely knew this man, why should he risk his life? The only reason the man had risked his life was that he had been trained to do so, nothing more, had he been scratched or bitten, and told him that when asked outside his room, the soldier would not have hesitated to shoot him. </p><p> </p><p>The two stood by the barricade now, the rucksack back on over the man's shoulders. They shared a glance at one another, it was a silent question of 'are you ready?' nothing that needed to be voiced. Izaya nodded, his hold around the gun tightening, his thumb flicking off the safety in preparation of what they might face. He winced at the sound of the shelving being pushed and dragged to the side; in the eerie atmosphere of impending doom looming over them, the noise sounded much louder than it should have done. Slowly, the soldier reached for the handle, he then turned to the raven with a small smile. "I'm Asami Yuudai, by the way," he said and then outstretched his hand. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya looked at his hand and then back at the man's face, was he seriously doing this right now? The barricade was gone, and they were about to quite possibly face at least ten or so zombies if they hadn't strayed too far from the corridor. Given how he had ended up in the hospital in the first place, he wondered if it was a good idea to even reveal his name, had it been on the news before the outbreak? He considered the fallout, and he concluded that in all this chaos, no one probably cared whether he was in the hospital or not. For a brief moment, the thought of that made him frown, they probably thought he had already fucking died! </p><p> </p><p>Tch. </p><p> </p><p>Then again, he was probably the furthest from their minds for entirely different reasons, most of them anyway. Izaya almost laughed, because he just bet that even while all of this was going on, Shizuo would still try and chase him out of Ikebukuro. </p><p> </p><p>"Orihara Izaya," the raven finally answered, did it matter anymore? </p><p> </p><p>Yuudai nodded and then opened the door slowly, taking the first step outside and then another, and another. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya waited.</p><p> </p><p>A hand gestured for him to follow, and soon the two of them were stood outside, staring down the corridor. </p><p> </p><p>The not so empty one.</p><p> </p><p>There were fewer of them than before, but that didn't make Izaya feel any better. Four zombies were still too many for his liking, he didn't even want to face one of them! "I still think our chances are better if we head to the roof," Yuudai whispered, hoping his tone wouldn't attract them just yet. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya narrowed his eyes, as much as he would like to agree, he didn't like the thought of trying to fight their way through, even if there was only four. There had to be another way to the rooftop! But either way, their options were minimal. Risk the zombies in front of them and quite possibly a few more between the entrance of the roof and the staircase or risk the second-floor stairwell and what might be even more zombies waiting for them. </p><p> </p><p>"Don't waste your bullets Izaya, I don't have any more ammo for that gun, just stick behind me." Izaya tensed, his fist clenched, and the hold on his weapon became even tighter. The feeling of quite literally placing his life in someone else's hands was overwhelmingly concerning. </p><p> </p><p>Maybe if it were someone he knew, someone like Simon, or even Kadota, someone that wasn't a stranger! No way was he going to trust his life with a person he just met! "That option doesn't work for me," Izaya spoke as he stepped out from behind the soldier, raising his gun halfway before Yuudai grabbed his arm. </p><p> </p><p>"You might need them later," Yuudai hissed, yanking the raven's arm down to his side. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya gritted his teeth as he glanced sideways at his only companion. "I need them now," he hissed back. </p><p> </p><p>Yuudai sighed in irritation and poised his weapon, frowning at him before turning to face the zombies, who had started to turn their attention on them. "Use your gun ONLY if necessary." He stepped in front again, taking the lead, and it wasn't long before at least two of the zombies began shifting faster toward him.</p><p> </p><p>BANG!</p><p> </p><p>BANG! </p><p> </p><p>The gunshots echoed through the corridor, the bullets penetrated their skulls, leaving a spray of blood as they fell. The other two seemed to react strongly to the sound if nothing else, and before Izaya decided to shoot as they drew closer, Yuudai fired his own. He exhaled a sigh and turned to Izaya. "Better go while we still can," he said and then began a light jog down toward the last stairwell. Izaya glanced to the side, there was hesitation, wondering if he would be safer if he separated, if he took his chances on the second floor, down to the first and – </p><p> </p><p>"Izaya!" </p><p> </p><p>Izaya turned his head in time to see a Zombie – </p><p> </p><p>Not quite dead – </p><p> </p><p>Its mouth open as it groaned loudly, baring its teeth – </p><p> </p><p>Leaning very close to his throat. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya's eyes were wide with shock, his entire body rigid – </p><p> </p><p>There was nothing he could do – </p><p> </p><p>Izaya screwed his eyes shut – </p><p> </p><p>It was over.</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to keep the outbreak a mystery just a little bit longer, that's why I didn't reveal what was said :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Death is inevitable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Izaya waited for the excruciating pain that would surely come from having his throat ripped out with rotting teeth, heck, he might even live long enough to feel the thing tear into his insides. None of that happened, the only thing he felt was the splatters of blood hitting his face and the sound of the zombie screech before it hit the ground, followed by a single gunshot. Opening his eyes, Izaya exhaled a slow breath as he looked down at the unmoving body. He trailed his fingers over his throat, as though making sure no teeth had caught him. <em>Shit, that was close. </em>His hand shook slightly before falling at his side, eyes casting over to the soldier now stood in front of him. Damn, the medic had saved his life again. "Izaya!" blinking, the raven shook his head, bringing himself out of the shock of nearly dying. "Are you okay, did it get you at all?" Izaya shook his head and then wiped the blood from his face on the sleeve of his jacket. "I wasn't sure if I would reach you in time." Then a frown crossed Yuudai's face as he gritted his teeth. "What the hell were you thinking, I thought you were right behind me, why did you stop?" </p><p> </p><p>Izaya glanced at the staircase beside him, his hesitation to decide whether he should take his chances alone had almost got him killed. That wasn't what had him shaken up, at least, not the main reason. What had him shaken the most, was the fact that he froze, it was like he had made a subconscious decision right there and then to just give up. It was almost as if he didn't want to survive; of course he wanted to survive! And yet, when that zombie came at him, he made absolutely no move to fight it off, as though there was no point. Was that why he gave up? Somewhere deep inside, maybe he realized there was no point trying to survive in this world, it wasn't going to get better, was it. Soon, probably all of Japan was going to fall victim to these things, so perhaps dying now was a lot better than dying later. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya snapped out of his thoughts again when a hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. "Come on, let's get out of here and get to the roof before more of these find their way here," Yuudai told him before releasing his wrist. Izaya just nodded, his near demise had forced him to realize that he wouldn't make it if he left on his own. He followed the soldier past the bodies lying in the corridor, furrowing his eyebrows when a thought popped into his head. There were at least nine other zombies out here when they barricaded themselves inside that room at the end, why now had there only been four? They could have retreated down the stairwell, but Izaya had a feeling that wasn't the case. Technically, he and Yuudai were potential meals, and even though the infected were just mindless beasts now, Izaya would guess that they wouldn't leave that opportunity alone. </p><p> </p><p><em>Where did the other five go? </em>As he looked up, he was forced to stop abruptly when Yuudai stood still in front of him. Stepping to the side, his eyes trailed over to what had caused the medic to suddenly freeze up. </p><p> </p><p>The door to the roof – </p><p> </p><p>Was open. </p><p> </p><p>"Why would they leave the door open so carelessly?" Izaya muttered, more to himself then a direct question; nevertheless, Yuudai answered anyway.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't think they had a choice," Yuudai replied slowly and then gestured with his gun to the door. "Look."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya looked at the door, oh, half of it was covered in blood. <em>So then, the missing zombies…... did they come from the roof, or did they head toward it? </em>Izaya followed Yuudai through the open door, not entirely sure he even wanted to. The moment they stepped out onto the roof, their sight was met with several scattered, mostly torn apart bodies. So, the zombies they had encountered in the corridor might have come <em>from </em>the roof, in which case, there could be a lot more than the five missing ones. "I thought you said the roof would be safer," Izaya hissed in annoyance, he knew he should have taken his chances heading back to the second floor. </p><p> </p><p>Yuudai didn't reply, he walked carefully over the bodies, checking them, making sure they were dead. He didn't understand, his commanding officer had assured him the all-clear up here when they last spoke, what had happened? He searched around the area, there were at least fifteen bodies. Yuudai gasped as he stopped beside the painted lines of a helicopter symbol, and there he was, his commanding officer. Eyes staring up at him, full and lifeless, his mouth open in a silent scream of what was probably pain. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya watched him from a slight distance, making sure to keep close to the door. "Most of them got away," he said, loud enough for Yuudai to hear him. "If they hadn't, the helicopters would still be here."</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai turned his head slightly when he heard Izaya speak. "You're right," he replied, turning his full attention to the raven. "But, these people had to die."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya sighed and turned his attention elsewhere, why did he have to be stuck with the moral-type? Yes, it was a hard sight to see the fates of those on the ground, he wasn't such an asshole that he wouldn't be affected by this. In just four days – his humans, they were slowly being taken away in the most horrific ways. "Casualties," he said in response with a frown as he turned to the soldier. "You told me that your commander said to expect casualties." In this situation, casualties were highly expected – </p><p> </p><p>A loud groaning caught Izaya's attention, he had wondered where those things had got to, he half hoped they had stumbled off the roof. Hearing a shuffling from a slight distance ahead, Izaya gripped the gun in his hand as they slowly shifted out from their positions. "One…. two…. three." Three in front of him, a glance to his right, "Four…..five…..six." Yuudai had his attention on the other group. <em>Does sound make them more aggressive? </em>Izaya tried not to let his fear show, he took a few careful steps back toward the door, glad he had chosen to stay close. <em>If we don't react, could we just –  </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>BANG!</p><p> </p><p>BANG! </p><p> </p><p>BANG! </p><p> </p><p>Eyes wide, Izaya snapped his head to his companion, so much for attempting that theory. A loud screech sounded in front of him, and he turned back to see the three closest to him rush at him all at once. <em>Shit! </em>Raising his gun, he pulled the trigger with tremendous hope that his aim wasn't as bad as he thought. One bullet snagged a shoulder, one on the chest, but the other – at least one of the shots pierced right through the skull of the one furthest behind. Izaya grimaced, damn, he really missed his knives. <em>If I had those, killing these things wouldn't be so much of a problem, it would undoubtedly be less distracting to them. </em>At least the other shots he had fired had slowed them a little. Before he could attempt to aim again, two shots from the side of him sounded off, and a cut off growl came from their throats before they thudded to the floor. </p><p> </p><p>There was another gunshot, and Izaya turned in time to see Yuudai jogging toward him. For a moment, he wasn't sure why the soldier's face had contorted into such a worried expression. It wasn't until Yuudai stopped beside him and turned back, did he see, at least six of the bodies they had found – were slowly rising.</p><p> </p><p>"Let's go back while we still can," Yuudai said, causing Izaya to frown; if they had just done that in the beginning. </p><p> </p><p>Without replying, Izaya turned away and jogged through the door, he glanced behind him when he heard it slam shut. There was something strange about this whole thing, and Izaya was beginning to think that Yuudai knew more then he said he did. For one, why was it that - except for the nurse that had tried to warn, and of course, the soldier - had he not seen another single <em>living </em>person? He understood the evacuation part, it certainly made sense, except – there didn't appear to be anyone left to evacuate, even before they got this far. </p><p> </p><p>"Come on," Yuudai spoke quietly as he took the lead once more, heading back into the corridor. It didn't take Izaya long to notice the change in the soldier's movements, and in the flickering of power still available to the lights, Izaya's eyes trailed down to the bottom of his leg. The raven stopped walking and acted on instinct, raising his gun and pulled back the safety. The click seemed loud within the silent corridor; the soldier heard it. Yuudai turned around, and even though he listened to the sound, a shocked expression still crossed his face. "Izaya?"</p><p> </p><p>"Explain that," Izaya said as he gestured to the dark patch of red that was forming around Yuudai's calf, just above his boot. "You didn't have that injury when we first got to the roof."</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai smiled at him and shook his head. "It's nothing, I just caught it on something back there."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya narrowed his eyes. "Like their teeth?" he took a few steps forward, with his gun still raised. "There were six of them when we first got there, I fired three shots after you also fired three. I killed one, you killed five, which makes a total of six shots, one for each. Explain the other shot, I heard it, so don't bother lying." Yuudai looked at Izaya in surprise, impressed with his quick observation. "I'm an information broker, so naturally, it's my job to observe my surroundings with precise accuracy."</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai huffed a laugh and smiled. "I believe you. I fired the other shot because the one I was standing next to was my commanding officer, and I saw him move so – but my wound isn't human inflicted, I promise."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya was hardly convinced, he wasn't going to drop his guard just on the man's words, soldier or not. "Do you think I'm just going to believe you?"</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai sighed and raised his weapon toward Izaya. "My rifle against your beretta Izaya, I've also seen your aim, you're right, you are bad." </p><p> </p><p>Izaya tightened his grip on the handle; on the outside, he looked calm, but he knew that if either of them was to fire their weapon, it would be him that lost his life. </p><p> </p><p>"Besides," Yuudai spoke again, "I believed you."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya sneered at him. "You've seen my wound, and there's another thing you should know about me."</p><p> </p><p>The medic tilted his head with a half-smile. "What's that?"</p><p> </p><p>"Humans," the raven spoke quietly, "I've dedicated almost thirteen years of my life, observing and understanding every emotion that exists. I know what they think, how they might feel in any given situation, though usually, it's because I've created that situation."</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai was suddenly aware that Izaya wasn't someone to underestimate, that he wasn't just an ordinary civilian, and he briefly wondered why the raven had been stabbed. Instead, though, he asked a different question, simply because now he was curious. "I see. If you can tell all that, then what am I thinking, how am I feeling?"</p><p> </p><p>A small grin flashed across Izaya's face; for a moment, he felt as though he was in control. For a moment, he wasn't in a world full of infected humans desperate to tear at other's flesh to eat and survive. "How you are feeling is mostly guilt, though I believe only you know the answer as to why that is. For the thinking part, I know you are lying about your wound."</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai tensed slightly, it might have been easy to figure out for anyone, but the way Izaya told him, it was like he did know. "How?"</p><p> </p><p>Izaya smirked. "Because that is what I would have done. Sometimes lying is a key-way to survive. In these circumstances, a person can lie about something as serious as say – a bite wound or scratch, simply because they don't want to accept it or because they don't want anyone else to find out. If another person did find out, then you would be ultimately putting what life you have left in someone else's hands. From the moment you were bitten, your life was out of your control, but as long as you are still you, you will do everything you can to remain in control for as long as possible. Even if that means putting someone else's life in danger by lying about what fate awaits you."</p><p> </p><p>The medic could only stare at the raven now, nothing but disbelief showed on his expression. He had seriously underestimated him, thinking how normal Izaya was based on his reactions in the beginning, how wrong he was. Yuudai felt he was being used now to learn everything there was to know before being left on his own. After a few more seconds, he lowered his weapon to the point where he placed it on the ground. </p><p> </p><p>Izaya's smirk faded then as he watched the man remove the rucksack and chuck it toward him. He frowned at the bag, and then his eyes snapped back to the soldier, waiting for an explanation. "Show me your wound," he said, but he was responded with a head shake.</p><p> </p><p>"You would have probably made a good soldier Izaya," Yuudai said with a smile, he suspected there was regret showing in his eyes now. "Truth is, I haven't been honest with you from the start."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya frowned, it wasn't like he hadn't already figured that out, but he couldn't help being curious as to what the truth was. </p><p> </p><p>"There was no evacuation ordered. This hospital was already doomed from the start, we all were, to be honest. My orders weren't to lead survivors to the escape zone, there was no arrangement to evacuate anyone. My orders were to clear this hospital of any <em>remaining.</em>"</p><p> </p><p>Izaya's eyes widened upon hearing this, it certainly explained a lot, but that didn't mean he was less surprised. "That nurse-" she had told him; she had said it herself – </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Oh, Mr. Orihara, it's not safe here right now," she spoke with a panicked tone and then pointed at the door. "You must come with me; the hospital is being evacuated."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"I told her that to create a good enough distraction, so no one would notice."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya couldn't believe it, he was – the raven frowned, trying to hide the fact that the soldier's confession had sent shivers down his spine. <em>If I hadn't reacted the way I did, he would have fucking shot me, as though I were just a dog needing to be put down. </em>Izaya gritted his teeth, this entire hospital – its survivors, they were nothing more than sacrificial lambs.</p><p> </p><p>"It worked for quite some time, I got held back a little, and that's when the nurse – well, you know. When you appeared from the room, I just – I don't know, something about you seemed different. You weren't wearing any of your hospital clothing, that in itself was enough to tell you already had good instincts. I was supposed to shoot you, I had a few good opportunities too."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya clenched his fist, thinking back on those times when the soldier had saved him before. The zombie outside his room, the one he shot on the second floor – and also – when he had thought Yuudai was going to shoot him back in the corridor, had he really planned to do so? Leading him into that room – barricading the door, was that why he hesitated? Then there was the near-death incident, that fucking zombie nearly ripped out his throat.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, I had plenty of opportunities, it was my orders – because any survivors meant more potential zombies. After we left the room, I was going to shoot that zombie from my position, because I knew that if I did, the bullet would pierce not only that thing's skull but yours too. It would have been quick, you wouldn't have known anything, I would have made the shot before it could even sink its teeth into you."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya's throat felt constricted, this was precisely the reason he never trusted anyone, if you couldn't rely on someone whose job was to protect people, then no one was worth trusting. He might have trusted him for a split second, but that was only for his benefit, he was grateful for his instincts. </p><p> </p><p>"I couldn't shoot you Izaya, I don't know why. Maybe it was proof that you weren't infected. Because with all the others, there was always doubt, but I thought if I could save even one person here – it might ease my conscience."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya narrowed his eyes, he understood the concept of survival, humans did things they usually wouldn't do to survive. He'd seen it for himself, he had even used that to his advantage in the past. Despite this, it still made him extremely annoyed, borderline angry if he was honest. "So, my survival depended solely on your guilt?"</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai nodded with a sigh, he was staring at the floor, arms slack at his sides. "I'm sorry, Izaya."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya snorted. "I don't need an apology; perhaps if I had trusted you from the start, it might have been necessary. I had you figured out before your little confession."</p><p> </p><p>With a smile, the medic looked up at Izaya, because he had decided. "I want you to shoot me."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya's eyes went wide for a moment, surprise etched across his face. Killing someone who had already turned was one thing, he had already taken that step, but – could he kill a person that was still human? Was there a difference? Izaya had never denied the type of person he was, but he didn't know if he could kill someone just because that person asked. Perhaps if he waited – until the infection took him over and he didn't look so – normal. He had been confident before, mainly because there had been a gun aimed at him, so at least he could have the excuse of self-defense. The weapon shook in his hand now, what right did that soldier have to ask him this?</p><p> </p><p>"I don't want to turn. I want to die while I'm still me, please, Izaya."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya frowned, if it were him – he'd want to die his way too, probably. He couldn't imagine turning into one of those things – a mindless, rotting corpse, just wandering until someone finally did put a bullet in his head. Izaya understood that, but was it fair to place the idea on someone else's shoulders? Was it fair to ask someone to kill them for you?</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai noticed the raven's hesitation, and he wouldn't blame him for that, no matter what kind of person Izaya claimed to be, the soldier knew he wasn't a killer. "You said you understand humans, so do you think they deserve a death worth having, or an extended life that they won't even know about?"</p><p> </p><p>Damn, even Izaya couldn't have said it better himself, and yet it didn't make this any easier. </p><p> </p><p>"Before you shoot me, there are some things I want to tell you, it might help your survival."</p><p> </p><p>Izaya scowled at him. "Why?"</p><p> </p><p>Yuudai huffed a laugh. "As I said, something about you. I think - I think you'll make it Izaya, you'll survive, no matter what. Believing that it makes dying feel a whole lot better, because I know I made the right decision by not shooting you before. So I want to help you any way I can before I go."</p><p> </p><p>………………………………..</p><p> </p><p>Izaya stared into his eyes, the information he received would prove to be useful, he just didn't know how far it would take him, or whether he really would make it. </p><p> </p><p>Because in this world – </p><p> </p><p>Izaya raised the gun to Yuudai's head as the man knelt in front of him. "Good luck, Izaya."</p><p> </p><p>– ­Even for a soldier – </p><p> </p><p>Izaya pulled the trigger.</p><p> </p><p>– Death was inevitable.</p><p> </p><p>BANG! </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm very sorry for the delay, haven't been myself recently, but I'm back now!</p><p>Hope you enjoy this chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izaya stares down at the dead soldier at the bullet hole in between in his eyes, caused by his hand. The raven tries to ignore the pungent smell of too-recent rotting flesh surrounding him, just focusing on the soldier who had saved his life more than once. Izaya didn't feel any empathy toward the man as an individual, but he couldn't grasp his feelings toward killing a person. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He would have turned</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Izaya thought as he took a tentative step closer as if the man was going to rise even with the bullet in his head. Izaya had a feeling his sleeping days were over, who would be able to sleep knowing these things were out there! The soldier wouldn't rise, he was quite sure of it, but it was always best to be cautious. With a frown, he exhaled a breath and reached down to pull the bag off from around Yuudai's shoulders by tilting him over. </span>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"As I said, something about you. I think - I think you'll make it Izaya, you'll survive, no matter what. Believing that it makes dying feel a whole lot better, because I know I made the right decision by not shooting you before. So I want to help you any way I can before I go."</span>
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  <span>Izaya's frown deepened as he unhooked the second strap and pulled the bag toward him. "I'll survive, you can count on that," he said before dragging the rucksack with him as he stood. Izaya said the words with determination in his eyes, but he was having difficulty believing them. He didn't know how to survive in this type of world, it wasn't as though he could manipulate zombies as he had done with humans, now was it? This was a whole new territory, and it was dangerous and full of death. "I guess I'll just have to adjust." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Easier said than done, but he had to start somewhere; first things first, he definitely couldn't stay here. </span>
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  <span>Shouldering the bag, he pulled the straps tightly to fit his small torso, and after he was sure the bag wouldn't slip off, he made for the stairs. The sound of his shoes on each step matched the beat of his heart, but the closer he came to the base, he slowed his stride, and his heartbeat intensified. Taking a deep breath, he took the last step off from the stairway and was now stood in the corridor of the second floor. Izaya gripped the gun tightly in his hand, knuckles pale with the adrenaline – or possibly fear – running through his veins. It didn't take a genius to realize how slim his chances were at this present moment, there were only three bullets left in his gun, he had no other form of weapons at hand, and – there was, of course, the threat of his injury. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If I can avoid them until I get the hell out of here, I'll be all right. </span>
  </em>
  <span>His wound wasn't his primary concern, he had plenty of supplies to take care of it, his main concern was just escaping this hospital, preferably with no </span>
  <em>
    <span>extra </span>
  </em>
  <span>wounds.</span>
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  <span>After checking the corridor was free of the undead, he turned right and quietly shuffled his way down. Izaya frowned and fixed his gaze ahead of him, trying his best to ignore the bodies lying in contorted positions across the floor. The lights flickering above were annoying, and he was surprised they hadn't blown, but he wasn't about to concern himself with the electrics since he would not be staying here. Izaya passed the room he had stayed in and the two zombies outside the door and – what remained of that nurse's body. Shaking his head, he continued and felt comfort in the fact that he was at least heading the right way. He ducked behind the wall to check the next corridor, his eyes darting across from left to right a few times before stepping out again. Izaya could feel his palms perspiring, and his grip tightened on the gun once more; he was scared, not that he'd admit it to anyone else – but he was alone so… </span>
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  <span>Coming to the top of the stairs, he realized he had yet to see what awaited him on the first floor, and that thought alone terrified him. With the third and second, he at least had some idea that he most likely wouldn't encounter any danger, and now he couldn't be sure of anything. Taking another deep breath, he descended the stairs and felt his entire body tense, he didn't like not knowing. While coming to this point, he had decided to try and check the hospital's cafeteria, which he knew to be on the first floor. The objective wasn't the greatest of his ideas, but it would benefit him if he at least found food and water substantial enough to see him through a couple of days. Izaya hoped that this crazy idea would also gain him a weapon, preferably one he could keep using. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I should have grabbed that broken table leg, it was metal at least. </span>
  </em>
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  <span>The first floor was darker, which just reinforced his anxiety, and there were a lot more clues to indicate people's confusion. The body count had increased too, and Izaya guessed this was where the commotion began. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don't use the gun, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought with a chew of his lip as he stepped around two bodies stripped of their flesh. Izaya closed his eyes before continuing forward, he made a point to stick close to the wall, there was just something about walking in the center of the corridor that had him feeling vulnerable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izaya peered over at the signs on the contrasting wall and took a moment to commit them to memory. Behind him were hospital beds, an x-ray room, and of course, the stairs leading up to the second floor. None of these were useful to him, so he was relieved to discover he didn't have to double-back. The turn at the right contained the intensive care unit, the reception, and his second objective, the fucking exit. "Then that must mean-" Izaya grinned, yeah, the left turn contained his first objective, the cafeteria. It also included another ward of beds and the oncology department, which caused him to frown. "Why couldn't you be the other side," he muttered to the wall as though it were to blame for his decisions. The oncology was the study of tumors, and he had a feeling there would have been an excessive increase in research in this department when the infection took over. The likeliest would have been the brain, and no doubt they were trying to produce a cure as fast as possible. Izaya stepped to the left, though his mind was screaming at him to forget about the cafeteria and leave. </span>
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  <span>A very eerie and uncomfortable silence had been a constant since leaving the third floor, so when he passed by the open door leading to an oncologist's office and heard a loud gurgling noise, his body automatically froze. Izaya startled, having gotten used to the silence for so long he began to think no other zombies remained in this hospital. It was a stupid concept to have considered so soon, Izaya knew, and his eyes fixed on the doorway, why did encountering them cause him to freeze up? Drawing a shaky breath, he stepped closer to the door and quietly peered inside without eliciting any attention to himself. There, he could see the moving dark shadow belonging to the gurgle he heard, it was hunched over something and close to the door. Izaya lifted his hand and gently grasped the handle, he hoped it was distracted enough so as not to see the door close. Swallowing dryly, he gently pulled the door toward him and thanked God it didn't creak. Izaya knew it was a risk, and he could have left it alone, but he had to come back this way and didn't want to risk facing them if he could help it. Besides, his life revolved around risks and when he saw the key inside the lock – </span>
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  <span>Izaya flinched when the door clicked shut, but he quickly turned the key, succeeding in trapping the damn thing within. Sighing in relief, he leaned against the wall, waiting for his hands to stop shaking and the numbness in his legs to pass. </span>
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</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span>Crash!</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
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  <strong>
    <em>
      
    </em>
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  <span>Izaya yelped loudly when a hand split the wood in the door and pushed through. He turned so fast to avoid it that he ended up stumbling backward and tripped. With an ungraceful skid, he landed on the smooth floor, eyes wide as the hand thrashed around to break free. At the corner of his eye, he saw a trolley used to carry bed sheets and other supplies, and thankfully those items occupied it. Pushing himself to his feet, he grasped the sides and gritted his teeth before shoving the trolley up against the door. Without a second hesitation, he ran in the direction of the cafeteria, cursing his stupidity once more. Izaya turned sharply around the next corner and lay a palm flat against the wall, his other holding his injury as he stopped. His heart thudded painfully in his chest, but he stepped forward when his destination came within sight. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I can rest once I get out of here. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Removing his hand away from his side he glanced down and gasped when he realized – </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He had dropped the gun. </span>
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  <span>"Shit," he cursed and turned to retrieve it, but – he looked back toward the canteen. "I'm already here, I may as well see what's left. I can pick it up on the way back." Decision made, Izaya returned to the archway and stepped into the large area. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It's not like anyone will take it, and I'm quite sure those infected can't use it, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought while his eyes scanned attentively over the many upturned tables and chairs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I hope. </span>
  </em>
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</p><p>
  <span>The sight before him wasn't as gruesome as he imagined, there was a minimum of five corpses from what he could see, though it was hard to distinguish that for sure when three of those five were actually torn apart. Izaya swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and started to move behind the kiosk. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Make that six. There was a woman, at least he thought it might have been a woman, she lay up against the shelves, her clothes torn and one arm was detached from her body. Izaya averted his eyes instantly when he noticed the open wall of her abdomen, reminding him too much of the first death he had witnessed by these things. Izaya shook his head and turned to push open the door beside him, knowing it would lead him into the prepping area. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There better be at least one knife in here, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought, and just as he lay his palm against the door to slide it open – </span>
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  <span>A low groan behind him ceased his movements. Judging from the sound, it had to be furthest to the back, and without moving too quickly, Izaya shifted around on his heel to face the danger. Its movements were slower then the rest he had encountered, it shuffled forward almost as if it was limping, and Izaya glanced down to see a chunk missing from the left knee cap. His gaze lifted back up, and he wondered if he could slip inside the room behind without alerting the zombie to his presence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don't think it's noticed me yet. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He took comfort in the fact that it probably couldn't move as fast anyway, even if it did see him. </span>
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  <span>Pressing his heel behind him, he started to push the door open and moved his palms back to shift its heavyweight the rest of the way. Izaya reached up and grasped the edge to stop it swinging back as he slipped inside silently, keeping his eyes fixed on the shuffling corpse. Slowly, he released the door to a close and exhaled a shuddering breath before pulling away with a shift of his body. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don't let one be in here. </span>
  </em>
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  <span>As quietly as he could, he began to search for the kitchen for anything that could pass as salvageable. He checked the small cupboards under the prepping areas first and then it's drawers, huffing in annoyance when nothing of value was found. He opened every cabinet along the top next, starting left to right and was beginning to lose hope until he came to the last one. Izaya grinned at the sight of some good fortune for once and shuffled the rucksack off his shoulders. It must have been the staff's cupboard because the items stocked there were random; two instant ramen pots, both plain but that wasn't important, there were two energy bars, three cans of energy-based drinks and a packet of salted chips. Izaya disliked conserved food, but now was not the time to be fastidious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Could have at least left me some coffee, I'd even take instant. </span>
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  <span>Izaya shoved everything from the cupboard into his bag, they would suffice for now and hopefully last at least a few days. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good thing I don't eat a lot. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Izaya shifted his attention to the rest of the kitchen once he shouldered the rucksack securely. "Now I need a weapon," he muttered while he checked the rest of the drawers on the opposite side near the stove. It would make sense for people to seize all the knives from the kitchen, so he had little hopes of finding one small yet sharp enough. "Preferably with a blade that won't snap on the first impact." Damn, he really missed his knife, and until now, he didn't realize how much he relied upon that for self-defense. The kitchen was smaller than he thought, but his physique allowed him to weave in between the small gaps to check the drawers across from the stove without the need to retrace his steps. "Damn," he muttered when nothing was found.</span>
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  <span>Izaya took a step behind to shift from the small space and back toward the door. Izaya was annoyed, he thought for sure there would be at least one knife. "What kind of kitchen is-" There! It was hard to see what it was or how small, but he could make the outline shape of a handle. Izaya knelt beside the cupboard situated under the sink, the item in question had fallen and slid just underneath enough that no one had noticed it. He reached under to pull out the object by its handle, and a grin formed over his face. "Bingo." It was a knife! And not a bad find either, the blade was at least seven inches long and a further four inches of the handle to suffice for a good grip. Izaya tested the sharpness by lightly jabbing the tip to his finger, he chuckled and stood up, pressing his finger to his lips when a dot of blood formed there. "Perfect." The find was also ironic, given that it was a boning knife, used to separate meat from the bone, although why there was one of these in a hospital cafeteria kitchen was a mystery to him. </span>
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</p><p>
  <span>Stepping up behind the closed swing door, Izaya peered through the small round glass window, his eyes scanning the cafeteria for any signs of the zombie he had seen. Nothing. Izaya exhaled a slow breath and pushed gently against the door and eased himself out of the kitchen, keeping his eyes fixed in front of him. There was no sign of that zombie, and he didn't know if it was good news because now he knew there were at least one of those things around somewhere nearby. Izaya tightened his grip on the new weapon he held and could feel the familiar use of the knife, even if it wasn't his switchblade. Izaya moved away from the door when he heard something that sounded an awful lot like slurping. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah, there was his zombie cafeteria companion, enjoying the meal served up by the cashier woman. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I think I'll stick with ramen,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought as he held back his nausea and quickly rushed over to the exit before it even had the chance to notice, the less time he was here, the better. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'll just head for the entrance, grab my gun on the way and get out of here. </span>
  </em>
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  </em>
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  <span>He rushed down the corridor, keeping his steps as light as possible and turned into the passage that would lead him to the reception and to freedom. Izaya slowed his movements, eyes narrowing at the sight of where he shoved the trolley, it was still there it seemed, and then his eyes fell on the gun. With a small grin, he kept half of his attention at the door while he retrieved his other weapon and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket after checking the safety catch. Izaya darted down the corridor, and finally, he made it to the reception. </span>
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  <span>Izaya's eyes grew wide at the bloodied chaos; equipment and furniture were scattered all around the vicinity, blood patterned the floor and over the broken glass windows across from him, and – and there were bodies – everywhere! Torn apart, mangled flesh rotting corpses. Four days! Izaya grimaced and stepped around the mess as best he could without stepping on</span>
  <em>
    <span> anything. </span>
  </em>
  <span>While his eyes darted around, watching, </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting</span>
  </em>
  <span>, for just one of these things to rise, he noticed most of them had bullet holes in their skulls. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's right, the soldiers from before …they're probably responsible for half of this.</span>
  </em>
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  <span>Just then, a clattering noise startled him into immediate alert, he swerved on his heel toward the reception desk. For a moment, his eyes shifted to the exit, the exit that was only a mere ten feet away from him. Izaya's fingers curled around the handle of the knife, he should go – but – his legs began in the direction of the desk instead. Izaya stepped over two bodies before reaching the open feature and found the cause of the clattering. It was a woman; she was hunched over, curled underneath the desk with her arms over her head. Izaya couldn't believe it, she was alive! She wasn't a corpse, she wasn't even an undead one as far as he could see, and the words that left his lips almost felt unnatural given the situation. "Are you all right?" </span>
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